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Cleaning System Tackles Challenging Airbag Components

January 1, 2010

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K.S. of West Virginia Co., Ltd., (KSWV), Ravenswood, WV, stamps the small, precision airbag-inflator bracket parts used in several Japanese automobiles, as well as other small parts including antilock-brake hub seals, oxygen sensor parts and seat parts. A recent airbag-components job has the supplier meeting very stringent cleanliness requirements—no rust is tolerated, and all stamping lubricant as the residual carbon created from the friction of the stamping process must be removed prior to assembly.

When the OEM recommended that the parts be cleaned in a hydrocarbon-type system rather than the aqueous system used by KSWV, the firm opted to purchase a Durr Ecoclean (Wixom, MI) Universal 81C hydrocarbon wash system, as well as a hydrocarbon dip tank from another manufacturer. The 81C features a pressurized self-contained closed-loop system that recycles the hydrocarbon solution. Since cleaning and drying processes occur in a work chamber under vacuum, heating energy is conserved while minimizing vapor loss, emissions and humidity issues. Heat recovery throughout the entire process helps reduce energy input, minimizing energy costs and CO2 emissions.

In addition to removing stamping oil and carbon from stamped parts, the Universal 81C prevents rust from occurring on parts after cleaning. KSWV officials report that no parts cleaned by the Universal 81C have ever failed a cleanliness test.

Durr Ecoclean: 248/960-4630; http://www.durr.com/

See also: Ecoclean, Inc.